Ski lifts, Elevators & Real Estate – As I enjoyed the slopes yesterday I made an interesting observation – I’ve always found people much more talkative while riding a ski lift than an elevator, ever noticed that? Why is that? Both are transporting you from one spot to another – Is it the outdoor air on the lift? Is it the fact that you are all bundled up and have a sense of anonymity?
What does this have to do with real estate? Let’s play this out – while chatting it up on the ski lift one of the first questions is going to be “What do you do?” Once someone hears ‘real estate’ then the follow-up question is a variation of “How’s the real estate market?”
So – How is the real estate market???
The real estate instructor/trainer side of me wants to break out a dry erase board, but I will spare you the classroom version. The fact is, it’s not an easy question to answer – here’s why – if the person is asking about the overall real estate market across the country that’s one thing, but in reality when people ask the question, what they really want to know is how the real estate market is doing in their area! More specifically they want to know their homes market value. How is their real estate investment performing.
It’s ironic that most people get real estate market news from national news media outlets when, for the average person, what they are interested in is their local market. I’ve always found getting your real estate market reports from the national media is comparable to a national weather forecast – you are not going to here “Today in the U.S. it’s going to be 68 and sunny – just like the weather, real estate market conditions are local and can vary drastically!
One of the best looks at local market conditions is to determine if it’s a buyers market or a sellers market – this is a process that examines how many homes are for sale compared to available buyers. Yes, basic supply and demand – Want to Know more about how ‘experts’ determine if it’s a buyer or seller market? Want to see how you can better understand your local market? Then Check out this post: Buyer or Seller Market – How Do You Know & What does it mean to me?